Look Me In The Eyes
by Blue Dot77
Summary: The stench that fills the air around me is that of blood, my blood. I did it all for her. That girl on fire had stolen my favor from the beginning.


**So, while writing Love Has Its Ways I got the idea for different Katniss pairings but decided upon putting up a Katniss/Seneca fic. The reasoning being that I have found myself in complete and utter love with Seneca Crane and I refuse to let him just die as if he didn't matter. I do not own the Hunger Games.**

* * *

The stench that fills the air around me is that of blood, my blood. For the umpteenth time, I find myself leaning against a tree as I cough up blood. By this time in my suffering, my throat is scorched from the repetitive coughing. Every now and then, my vision blurs. It makes sense, I made the decision to go against President Snow so he punished me by having me beaten and abandoned in the middle of nowhere. Any minute now, I expect some type of wild animal to emerge from the darkness of night to put an end to my misery. It was because of her, that girl on fire, that I am in this position. She had seemed so... different to me somehow. By allowing her district partner, that blonde boy I didn't bother to remember the name of during my torture, to live alongside her I had sealed my fate. I did it all for her. That girl on fire had stolen my favor from the beginning.

In my mind, I believe that Cinna knew all along that I would do anything for that girl once I met her. That fact alone is odd, I had been Head Gamemaker for three years in a row. Why would I care for one girl out of the other thirty-five girls that I had toyed with in the Arena? Another blood-filled cough, I fell to the ground. There was no way I would live much longer in this condition. To be honest, I'm not even sure of where I am going or what I expect to find. All I know is that there is a pull in my chest, dragging me slowly towards an unknown destination. There is a rustle of leaves about ten feet ahead of me and I go to lift myself, ready as possible to face whatever animal has decided to make me dinner.

"I heard the thump over here!" a feminine voice I recognized called. It made my heart stutter to hear her voice. What was she doing out here at such a late time? Again, I struggled to rise but just landed back on my face in the dirt. I could feel some of the cool grass through the torn holes in my khakis. Against my will, I let out a moan of pain. Footsteps reached my ears and I heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What's wrong? Katniss?" a male voice called out as more rustling met my ears and I struggled to remain conscious. This man wasn't the blonde, that much I could gather in my weakened state. There was another intake of breath that followed. "Who the- help me get him off the ground. Check his pulse."

Four hands grabbed me gingerly and turned me over. Even though they tried to be gentle, I was still hurt as I moaned in agony. My eyes could barely open to form thin slits, therefore my eyelashes blocked most of my vision. A feminine hand, it was rough but not like a male's, grabbed my hand carefully and checked my pulse. The warmth of her hand held me like an anchor to reality. This was the first time we had ever come in physical contact like this before.

"His pulse is weak," she informed her companion solemnly. As she went to pull her hand away, I gripped it. If these were to be my last moments, then I want to spend them holding the hand of the girl that I had given up everything for. She didn't pull away, much to my relief.

"Who is this guy? Why is he all the way out here?" her friend asked. _Dying slowly..._ I thought as I tried to open my eyes just enough to see her face.

"I'm not sure...," her beautiful voice trailed off as she reached up to push my usually combed black hair away from my face. After doing so, she let out a small gasp and I felt her re position herself closer to my face. Then I was caught off guard as her fingertips on her free hand lightly traced my beard, which oddly enough had been left alone during my torture. It was probably so that if anyone did find me they would know who I was and kill me on sight. Her fingertips ran up the right side of my face and I felt them on my eyelids. Hesitantly, she pushed open one eye and jumped back, tearing her hand from mine in the process. It made my hand feel cold and empty, just like my heart.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" the male asked. I let my eye close back. This is it, she's going to run away and leave me to die a horrible death. In all honesty, I deserve worse than what I got. Maybe some type of animal will come and grant me the mercy of ripping out my jugular.

"It-It's _him_!" she hissed. "That man is _Seneca Crane_!"

You never feel as horrible as you do when you hear the girl you sacrificed everything for say your name as if it were acid. This was the point when I just let myself drift. A darkness consumed me, driving away the horrible ache in my heart for the Girl On Fire.

* * *

To my surprise, I awoke in what I am guessing was the guest bedroom of a house. My eyes surveyed the room. It's pale walls were unfamiliar to me. A groan escaped my lips as I fought to sit up and my body protested. I feel so weak, barely able to move without a sharp pain coursing through my body. A small girl that I vaguely recognized entered the room. Her hair was blonde like that one boy that I had allowed to live along with Katniss during the previous games. What was her name?

"Oh, you're awake. That's reassuring. When Gale and Katniss brought you in two days ago you were barely breathing," she explained. Two days? Had I really been out for that long? "Here, have a cup of water."

The girl who looked to be around the age of twelve produced a small cup of water and walked over to me with a smile on her face before bringing it to my lips. Feeling the cool liquid down my throat was refreshing. Once she pulled the cup away, I opened my mouth to speak, though it came out ragged, "Thank you. I believe recognize you from somewhere, do I know you?"

A thoughtful look crossed her face before the realization hit her.

"Oh! Yes, um, well no, not really. My sister is Katniss Everdeen, she was in the 74th Hunger Games that you, um, were the Head Gamemaker of," her face seemed to hollow as she spoke and her eyes grew sad. I didn't like the sad look in her soft blue eyes. "She volunteered for me and took my place in the Games."

"I see, you're Primrose," I whispered her name that I had vaguely remembered after her long description.

"You know my name?" the sad look her eyes had held fled and was replaced with piqued curiosity as she set sideways on the end of the bed.

"Yes, I watched the Reaping," I explained to the small girl. She was going to say something when a familiar voice called out.

"Prim, what is taking you so long?" the feminine voice called before the door opened to reveal a girl with skin like ivory and dark hair that was in a long braid. The girl's striking gray eyes went straight to me and they narrowed, making her seem even deadlier. "I see, our _guest_ is awake?"

"Yes, he is," Prim nodded in agreement. My eyes were glued to the girl standing in the doorway. Her beauty was even more obvious in person. She had her long black locks pulled into a braid and her eyes were a grey shadowed by bottled up pain and anger. Pain and anger that I had been a direct cause of for the most part. "Though, probably not for long. The pain is going to be returning soon."

At this statement, I felt a sudden, unending, flash of pain. A shout of pain left me as I squeezed my eyes shut. After a few minutes of this pain, a needle pierced my right arm. The pain slowly edged away and I felt myself being lulled to sleep.

* * *

Once again, I awoke to the small room. The pain had dulled and I blinked several times before I was really able to see. Hesitantly, I moved a hand to the thin blanket covering me and pushed it aside to reveal the rest of my body. To get a better view, I struggled into a sitting position. There were bandages all over my legs, covering the more drastic wounds, and my entire torso had been bandaged up. My arms were bandaged similarly to my legs. Every movement hurt but I knew I needed to leave. It was stupid for me to be here. The Districts all hated the Games and if anyone in District 12 learned of my presence it could endanger Katniss and her family. My legs swung stiffly to the side as I put my bandaged feet against the hard floor. After doing so, I struggled to stand. A gasp of shock and pain left me as I grabbed a nightstand for support.

"Is everything okay in there?" Katniss called without any real concern in her voice.

"Fine," I snapped through gritted teeth. I didn't meant to snap at her but I had no choice. The pain refused to let me speak calmly. She didn't reply and I went back to the task at hand. One foot in front of the other, using the wall as support, I moved towards the door before getting it open. No one was in my line of sight as I pulled myself towards the front of the home. I had just reached the door when a feminine voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?" Katniss asked me with a raised eyebrow in my direction. I turned to face her, leaning my back against the door.

"Admit it Katniss, you don't want me here anyway so why stop me. All I am doing is putting your family at risk by being here. If anyone knew I was here it would just put you in danger. Let me leave. I should have died out in those woods," I informed her, trying to persuade her to act as if she didn't see me leaving and just let me disappear.

"You think we don't know that? I wouldn't have let Gale bring you here if I wanted you to just die in the woods. I want answers!" she growled. My vision was growing blurry and I pushed myself off the door as I began approaching her. This took her by surprise. "Why would you, of all people, help Peeta and I?"

"You don't know anything about me, Katniss," I told her. Then I fell face first into the floor, passing out on the way down.


End file.
